Night of The Seagulls – the fourth “Blind Dead” film

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This 1975 Spanish horror film, "Night of the Seagulls," written and directed by Amando de Ossorio, is the fourth and final entry in the Knights Templar “blind dead” series – and is the sequel to The Ghost Galleon (1974). The film was also marketed as “La noche de las gaviotes,” “Don't Go Out At Night” and “Night of The Death Cult.” Although it's often thought of as the least effective of the four blind dead films, I find it to be a much better film and more entertaining than The Ghost Galleon and the second blind dead film – Return of The Blind Dead (1973).

Young Dr. Henry Stein (Victor Petit) and his wife Joan (Maria Kosti) arrive at a small, inhospitable coastal town in Spain. Stein is to be the new doctor of the village. The current doctor is an elderly man who wants to retire and leave the village immediately. He tells Stein that the villagers don't want doctors in the village and to not ask questions, pry into anyone's business or go out at night. He communicates a deep sense of fear about living in the village. The Steins are staying at the elderly doctor's house.

After settling in the elderly doctor's house that night, the Steins hear a church bell and the screams of a flock of seagulls. Joan mentions that seagulls are not supposed to scream and fly at night. The Steins leave the house to investigate and come across a procession of villagers dressed in hooded robes walking along the beach. The procession ties a young woman dressed in white to a rock on the beach. The corpses of Knights Templars, who have been dead for over 600 years, arrive on horses to kidnap the young girl and sacrifice her to a Sea God statue.

In the following days, the local villagers, including a grocery merchant, continue to ignore and avoid the Steins. Joan meets a young girl named Lucy at the local store. Lucy asks for a job as a housekeeper at the Stein's home. Joan agrees to her employment while Lucy reminds her that the villagers don't like strangers. The two become good friends.

Dr. Stein's first day on the job does not go well, since no patients arrived for an appointment. The Stein's hear the sound of the bell again and the screams of seagulls as someone aggressively knocks at their door. A young girl named Tilda is at the door – hysterical with fear. Dr. Stein gives her a tranquilizer to calm her down. Tilda's father arrives to take her home, upset that Stein has treated her and tells Stein to leave Tilda and the villagers alone. The procession of villagers arrives to escort Tilda to the beach where she is to become the next sacrifice to the Templars. Her heart is cut out at the statue of the Sea God.

The next morning, the Steins walk the village to inquire where Tilda has disappeared to. Tilda's father lies to Dr. Stein and says she left with a cousin to the city. Lucy tells the Steins that every year for seven days, a sacrifice to the Templars is made of seven victims. The procession of villagers take Lucy from Stein's home. She is to be the next sacrifice.

Dr. Stein locates Lucy at the sacrificial rock and frees her from the rock as the Templars on horses arrive to take her away. The Steins and Lucy barricade themselves inside the Stein home as the Templars try to get inside. They make their way to the attic and get out, sliding down the roof and onto the horses of the Templars.

Unlike scenes in the first three blind dead films, most of the scenes of Templars in Night of The Seagulls are shot in well-lit and near-dark environments, which reveal greater details of their features, especially with close up shots. The closing shots of the Steins riding on horses as they are chased by the Templars are some of the most effective, gloomy sequences of the film because of the grainy appearance of the shots. The Templars approaching the beach on horses to confront their next sacrificial victim are also some of the most effective shots in the film. Many of these shots are shown in slow motion, which adds to their creepy appearance.

The four blind dead films do not need to be watched in the order of their release to enjoy them. They can be watched out of order and still enjoyed, although the first film – Tombs of The Blind Dead (1971) does go into the greatest details about who the Knights Templar are and where they came from. Two of the blind dead films – Tombs of The Blind Dead and Return of the Blind Dead (1973) inject a predictable love triangle story that we don't see in this fourth film. Leaving the love triangle story out of Night of The Seagulls makes it a more effective and gloomy film.

Blue Underground released an interesting DVD box set of the four films in 2006 contained in a collectible coffin shaped box. The set also contains a booklet about the films with lots of production photos, and a DVD documentary about director Amando de Ossorio. Watch a trailer of Night of the Seagulls here. Happy viewing.

-- Steve D. Stones